A celebration of words: Sharing the stage to read and listen to stories and ideas

I read from Calvin Trillin's The Tummy Trilogy
during the fifth annual WriterCoach Connection's
Read-and-Write-a-thon at Longfellow Middle School.

Last Saturday morning, I participated in the fifth annual WriterCoach Connection Read-and-Write-a-thon at Longfellow Middle School Library in Berkeley.

I had never participated in a read-a-thon and, honestly, didn't really know what to expect. Would I be nervous? Would I be confident? Would my voice project adequately? Would the audience warm to my literary selection?

During the 75 minutes I spent at the WriterCoach Connection Read-and-Write-a-thon, which began my activity-filled Saturday (and, later, would include stops at two busy grocery stores, plus an evening birthday/bowling party on the other side of the Bay), I was both humbled and amazed. There was much generosity from the dozen-or-so supporters in the library at the time I read, who focused on my every spoken word for the 15 minutes in which I commanded their attentiveness.

For those who were inspired and dropped in at the Longfellow Middle School Library-cum-literary café between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., they were greeted with a comfortable and inviting setting as well as a nice selection of good, healthy eats in which to enjoy an assortment of non-stop poetry (lots of Emily Dickinson), prose (Henry David Thoreau and David Halberstam), children's literature (Dr. Seuss) and fiction (Téa Obreht and Flann O'Brien, among many) ~ even a reading of Abraham Lincoln's famous speech "The Gettysburg Address." The Read-and-Write-a-Thon was spread over 10 consecutive hours as an ever-changing cast of writing coaches and students shared center stage (actually, it was a comfy sofa) to read and listen to stories and ideas that give life and light to our world.

When it was my turn to read at 9 a.m., I calmly walked up to the front of the spacious reading room, immediately made eye contact with the audience, and enthusiastically read about food and travel from The Tummy Trilogy by the American humorist Calvin Trillin, who through his books American Fried; Alice, Let's Eat; and Third Helpings, established himself as, in Craig Claiborne's phrase, "the Walt Whitman of American eats."

In the opening chapter from American Fried, "The Traveling Man's Burden," I read aloud Trillin's written words and tried to inject some of his wry humor with just the right amount of wit, sarcasm, and the occasional pause for dramatic effect:

"The best restaurants in the world are, of course, in Kansas City. (pause) Not all of them; (pause) only the top four or five."

The opening paragraph drew nice laughter from the audience. Immediately, I realized I had made a good literary choice, and the polite-but-hearty applause I received at the end of my reading made me feel good inside.  I flashed a big smile as I returned to the table my wife and I shared, and enjoyed some fresh strawberries and cheddar cheese. Afterwards, I learned that Trillin had been a past donor to the WCC Read-and-Write-a-thon.

Indeed, my first read-a-thon experience was a positive one.

That night, on the WCC website, there was high praise to go along with an impressive list of donors who contributed to the Read-and-Write-a-thon. "Everyone who attended agreed that this was the best Read-and-Write-a-thon ever! In addition to inspired 15-minute individual readings, highlights included a large group of student readings, a spirited game of team Literary Jeopardy, and a moving group reading of "The Laramie Project."

This year, I have been volunteering with the WriterCoach Connection (WCC) ~ a program of the non-profit Community Alliance for Learning ~ that helps students become more competent and confident writers. WCC does this by matching middle- and high-school kids with community volunteers ~ like me ~ for one-on-one coaching during their English classes.

The WCC now has more than 600 volunteer coaches, from all cultures and backgrounds ~ parents, grandparents, working and retired people, and recent college graduates ~ working in 10 San Francisco Bay Area public schools. I have been a volunteer at Longfellow Middle School in Berkeley, where this year we've already held more than 2,200 individual coaching sessions.

My goal as a writing coach is simple and straight-forward, yet heartfelt: To help strengthen a student's writing skills and help them develop their ideas. And, through the use of positive encouragement and showing care, I believe I am making a difference in these students.

Some of my students have been easy to connect with while others have been shy and reserve in their demeanor. They include boys and girls, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, blacks and whites ~ a microcosm of Berkeley's population. Sometimes, I sense discouragement when I sit down with a student. However, I try to convey hope and enthusiasm and, I always ask: "What can I help you with today?"

Volunteering as a writer coach has been a uniquely rewarding experience for me. I've enjoyed seeing my students become more critical thinkers and confident writers, and there's the satisfaction of giving them a quiet and positive space in their busy school day to thrive in. Of course, too, there's witnessing the gratitude of dedicated teachers whom we serve. It's an experience I look forward to repeating next school year.

As the current school term winds down, I sense that my students are becoming more confident in their abilities not to mention more competent in their writing and thinking skills.

After all, inside every student there is a writer.

Rembrandt and the richness of the print culture

Rembrandt Van Rijn / 
Arguably, the most influential
graphic artist of his generation.

On the occasion of seeing Rembrandt's Century the other evening at the de Young Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, I was amazed by the wide ranging artworks from the Dutch Golden Age and the remarkable achievements by Rembrandt Van Rijn and his 17th century Dutch peers in this exhibition of works on paper.

Rembrandt's Century, which complements Girl With the Pearl Earring: Dutch Paintings from the Mauritshuis, explores an artistic era when printmaking gained in cultural importance, both in Holland and internationally. According to the exhibition's curator, James Ganz, writing on the de Young Museum's website, http://deyoung.famsf.org, "More than any other fine objects, prints circulation extensively throughout the 17th-century art world, broadcasting artistic, political, and scientific development far and wide."

This extraordinary exhibition of more than 200 engravings, etchings, woodcuts, ink drawings and watercolors, includes 60 etchings by Rembrandt dating from the 1620s to the 1660s as its focal point. Also, there are works by painter-printmakers such as Adriaen van Ostade, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione and Jusepe de Ribera, as well as by graphic artists such as Jacques Callot, Wenceslaus Hollar and Lambert Doomer.

Through observing Rembrandt's etchings and prints, I learned of the richness of the print culture that existed during the era of the Dutch Golden Age. Not only was Rembrandt a student of art; he was also a teacher and a collector, too. His prints include many different genres: still life, natural history, the nude, landscape, and scenes of daily life.

One of his Rembrandt's most artistic landscapes regardless of medium is his "The Landscape with Three Trees," drawn in 1643. It represents Rembrandt's largest and most striking etched landscape and it's animated with many details, too. It drew a lot of attention and gazing on this evening.

"It's a print that's been loved by so many people, and there's so much literature on it, yet nobody to this day can agree on whether the storm is coming or going or what kind of trees those are," said Ganz, in a March interview with San Francisco Chronicle art critic Kenneth Baker.

"One of the conventions of landscape is that you have a draftsman sitting somewhere, but you don't put the draftsman facing out of the picture, which is what Rembrandt does here," said Ganz. "It's almost impossible to see under 5-foot candles of light, but there is a couple there cuddling in the bushes. And the three trees ~ are they the Three Crosses? Is it a political thing? We don't know."

One thing that's certain is Rembrandt thoroughly immersed himself in the vibrant print culture of the 17th century, both as a creator and collector, and he distinguished himself as arguably the most influential graphic artist of his generation.

Rembrandt's Century, the first exhibition to showcase the extraordinary holdings from the age of Rembrandt van Rijn in the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, runs through June 2, 2013 in the de Young-Herbst Exhibition Galleries at the de Young Museum, San Francisco.

(Photo for Rembrandt's Century courtesy of Exhibition Catalogue.)

Rembrandt's The Landscape With the Three Trees (1643)

Laura Mvula: Singing to the moon with a beautiful heart, soul and voice

On her debut album, Sing to the Moon, the British singer/songwriter Laura Mvula not only taps into the sound of vintage '60s soul, she really stands out in the spotlight.

I learned of Mvula only last month when I heard Morning Becomes Eclectic host Jason Bentley rave about her music, which unconventionally pairs neo-soul with orchestral pop, and her voice, calling her a "revelation."

Soon, thereafter, NPR profiled the chanteuse, noting that her songs "sound like the whole world at once.

"Equally adept at radiating joy ("Like the Morning Dew"), articulating a socially conscious mission statement ("That's Alright"), and singing sweet ballads (the harp-infused "Can't Live With the World"), Mvula radiates the world confidence of a singer twice her age," wrote NPR's Stephen Thompson.

Mvula, 26, grew up in Birmingham, England as "a regular girl" in a musical family. She has two younger siblings who play in her touring band, which includes strings and horns. She is a classically-trained singer, who graduated from the Birmingham Conservatoire, and has sung in acapella choirs.

Mvula sings with a voice that is as distinctive as it is different. Think about the first time you heard Adele or Amy Winehouse or, for those of you old enough to remember, Nina Simone. How do I best describe Mvula's fantastic voice? Well, it is breathtakingly amazing ~ there's a neo-soul mentality to it, influenced by Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill ~ and Mvula's gentle-but-powerful song lyrics are heartfelt. And, there are those infectious vocal harmonies found in many of her songs, such as "Like the Morning Dew," the first track on Sing to the Moon, that would do the Beach Boys proud.

Recently, Mvula gave her U.S. radio debut as she performed live on the Morning Becomes Eclectic show, which originates from public radio station KCRW-FM (Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-noon Pacific Time / 4-7 p.m. GMT) in Santa Monica, Calif., and is simulcast worldwide via KCRW.com. For a limited time, KCRW offering a free download of the magnificent "Sing to the Moon."

"I love the version of "Sing to the Moon" that appears on Laura Mvula's debut album, but when I heard her perform it live at KCRW it became an intimate story performed so delicately that it's heartbreaking," KCRW host Anne Litt wrote on the station's website. "During her interview for Morning Becomes Eclectic, she revealed that this song was inspired by an autobiography of a 1950's jazz singer called Adelaide Hall whose father told her to 'sing to the moon, and the stars will shine.' "

Indeed, Sing to the Moon is a celebration of Laura Mvula's beautiful and soulful voice. The stars are shining tonight.

* * * 

Sing to the Moon is currently available digitally via iTunes and Amazon.com, and the CD and vinyl version debuts on May 14.

To see videos from the Sing to the Moon album, go to : http://www.lauramvula.com/video.

Video of "Sing to the Moon" courtesy of KCRW.com.

Out of the Park: The Art of Baseball

We Did It! / 2013, Oil on canvas 16 x 20 inches
By Jon Francis

Out of the Park: The Art of Baseball is a visual and artistic metaphor of the American pastime that reminds us that baseball is rich in art and literature.

Last Saturday, I visited the Out of the Park: The Art of Baseball exhibition at the George Krevsky Gallery of American Art, located at 77 Geary Street near Union Square in San Francisco. Seeing this year's exhibit brought back fond memories of the 2012 San Francisco Giants World Series championship as depicted through a painting of Sergio Romo, shown moments after striking out Miguel Cabrera to clinch the decisive victory, while his battery mate Buster Posey races to the mound to join Romo in celebration.

This year's 16th annual exhibition of baseball art includes iconic images of Jackie Robinson, Joe DiMaggio and Willie Mays, all which reinforced for me on this April afternoon why baseball matters ~ why it has an important purpose in my life.

Also, there's Oakland A's reliever Rollie Fingers illustrated in his prime, a collage of the outfield wall at Brooklyn's old Ebbets Field featuring the advertisement "Hit Sign, Win Suit" ~ even a gelatin silver photograph of Fidel Castro swinging a baseball bat.

Each work of art from the more than 40 artists in this year's exhibition, created through the use of a variety of mixed media ~ graphite on paper, oil on paper, oil on canvas, gelatin silver photograph, acrylic and marker on canvas board, hand-cut paper collage, and pastel on paper ~ cements our lasting memories of the game we've loved since we were children.

And, there's also a featured literary component, "Baseball Canto," by the American Beat poet and San Francisco resident Lawrence Ferlinghetti:

Watching baseball, sitting in the sun,
eating popcorn, reading Ezra Pound,
and wishing that Juan Marichal would hit a hole right through
the Anglo-Saxon tradition in the first Canto
and demolish the barbarian invaders.
When the San Francisco Giants take the field
and everyone stands up for the National Anthem
with some Irish tenor's voice piped over the loudspeakers,
with all the players struck dead in their places
and the white umpires like Irish cops
in their black suits and little black caps, pressed over their hearts
standing straight and still
like at some funeral of a blarney bartender, and all facing East
as if expecting  some Great White Hope
or the Founding Fathers, to appear on the horizon
like 1066 or 1776 or all that.

But Willie Mays appears instead,
in the bottom of the first,
and a roar goes up, as he clouts the first one into the sun
and takes off, like a footrunner from Thebes.
The ball is lost in the sun and maidens wail after him
but he keeps running, through the Anglo-Saxon epic.
And Tito Fuentes comes up, looking like a bullfighter
in his tight pants and small pointed shoes.
And the rightfield bleachers go mad
with Chicanos & blacks & Brooklyn beer drinkers
"Sweet Tito! Sock it to heem, Sweet Tito!"
And Sweet Tito puts his foot in the bucket
and smacks one that don't come back at all
and flees around the bases
like he's escaping from the United Fruit Company
as the gringo dollar beats out the pound.
And Sweet Tito beats it out, like he's beating out usury,
not to mention fascism and anti-semitism.
And Juan Marichal comes up,
and the Chicano bleachers go loco again,
as Juan belts the first ball, out of sight,
and rounds first and keeps going
and rounds second and rounds third,
and keeps going, and hits pay-dirt
to the roars of the grungy populace.
As some nut presses the backstage panic button
for the tape-recorded National Anthem again,
to save the situation.

But it don't stop nobody this time,
in their revolution round the loaded white bases,
in this last of the great Anglo-Saxon epics,
in the Territorio Libre of Baseball.

A special treat of this year's show is A Baseball Salon: Memories of the Game, an evening of baseball poetry and literature readings, music and short film that will be hosted by the gallery on May 2.

"Baseball has a new purpose in our lives," writes Dr. Marshall Ledger, a magazine editor, in the gallery notes for Out of the Park: The Art of Baseball. We have discovered the sport in the visual arts and in literature, where artists and writers use it as theme or metaphor to draw us into their special, and often unexpectedly rich, creative worlds."

(Out of the Park: The Art of Baseball continues through May 25. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.)

In our garden: Reflections on Earth Day 2013

Earth Day, a celebration of what the earth gives us, was celebrated across the world on Monday.

It is often said that love begins in the home. And, so does our love for our planet earth. Yesterday, amid clear skies and a wealth of lovely sunshine that greeted the San Francisco Bay Area, I seized an opportunity to get outside for a little while and spent some time in our garden.

As I looked around, I thought to myself: "If I love the earth, all will bloom naturally."

We are blessed to have nine different rose bushes as well as irises, calla lilies, fuchsias, rhododendrons and camellias surrounding our house. Indeed, we have an abundance of beautiful blooms throughout the entire year, especially during the month of April.

And, so, in celebration of Earth Day yesterday, I grabbed my camera and started taking photographs, recording these precious moments in our garden for others to cherish. Consider it  as my random act of kindness. 

May every day be like Earth Day to us.

Iris

Mr. Lincoln rose

Pristine rose

Calla lily

Rhododendron

All photographs by Michael Dickens, copyright 2013. All rights reserved.

A monument to change that's always changing

Hundreds of colorful Post-It notes?

Not quite.

Instead, what caught my attention as my wife and I happened upon the American artist Peter Wegner's never-ending "Monument to Change as It Changes" on a recent, northern California spring evening was this: it's an unusual yet thought-provoking monument of colorful patterns and images that's perpetually in flux.

One moment, the 2,048 tiles comprising "Monument to Change as It Changes" are mostly blue with shades of green. Another moment, it's turned red accented with yellow, and so on. There's a fluttering sound heard as each of the tiles flips and changes color.

The massive, three-ton wall monument, which made its debut in 2011, is a 32-foot-wide large grid of colorful flip tiles built into the facade of Zambrano Hall at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business campus.

The flip-digit technology that enables each tile to change colors ~ including blues, reds, yellow, greens, purples ~ is reminiscent to the way letters change on old-fashioned European train station departure and arrival boards. And, not surprisingly, this mesmerizing artwork was designed so that no color patterns repeat during an eight-hour cycle.

During my 10-minute visit, I stood transfixed by the ever-evolving color patterns and the cadence of sound as I tried to shoot photographs of this artistic moving monument.

Sometimes, it takes provocative beauty to make us pause and think about big thoughts.

Monument to Change as it Changes /
Always colorful and perpetually in flux

Photograph of "Monument to Change as it Changes" by Michael Dickens, copyright 2013. 
Video courtesy of Stanford Graduate School of Business, copyright 2011.

Sharing a checklist that's always in season

In our garden / A spring white rose blooms after an April shower.

Sharing a spring checklist

 that's been making the rounds, 

but one I admire for its sincerity and purpose.

 And, it's one which is always in season,

rain or shine:

"Be kind.

Work hard.

Stay humble.

Smile often.

Stay loyal.

Keep honest.

Travel when possible.

Never stop learning.

Be thankful always.

And love."

Photograph of white rose by Michael Dickens, copyright 2013. All rights reserved.

A sacred space is graced with light

Sacred space /Graced With Light

Imagine a series of light pathways that connect heaven and earth, manifest as ribbons.

Graced With Light is a stunning, music-inspired installation created by American visual artist Anne Patterson that incorporates a French Gothic-style cathedral's vaulted ceiling arches.

In engaging audiences through this remarkable creation that synthesizes art and music, light and sound, space and self, Graced With Light, which had its debut last month in San Francisco's Grace Cathedral, brings the beauty of art into a famed sacred space.

Grace Cathedral, whose ancestral parish, Grace Church, was founded in 1849 during the California Gold Rush, has always been a place to belong; a place to explore; a place to go deeper in one's faith. And, Graced With Light, part of a celebration of 100 Years of Music at Grace Cathedral, is designed to grow and change.

As I entered Grace Cathedral on an overcast Easter Sunday morning, I saw the Episcopal cathedral, located on Nob Hill, in a brand new light. What I witnessed was miles upon miles of colorful ribbon ~ 20 miles-worth of shimmering ribbon ~ hand-assembled by Patterson, this year's cathedral artist in residence, with help from the Grace Cathedral community.

Each viewing of Graced With Light will be different thanks to the way in which light reflects inside the cathedral from both the natural ceiling lights as well as from the many colorful stained glass windows.

The message Patterson has conveyed is a personal one ~ and one which left a lasting impression with me. Imagine ribbons carrying our prayers, our dreams and our wishes skyward. And, in return, see grace streaming down the ribbons to each of us.

Graced With Light will be on view at Grace Cathedral through this summer.

To learn more about Graced With Light: http://www.gracecathedral.org/air.

Worth a good listen: Appealing to your inner ear and hungry mind one song at a time

Spring has arrived in splendid fashion ~ and there's plenty of promise as the weather warms up for most of us around the world. What better way to celebrate the new season than by spinning some enjoyable new tunes.

Whether you're looking to create a mood or, simply, be in the mood, here's a multicultural playlist (U.K., U.S., Australia, Germany, Switzerland) of some of my favorite music I've been in tune with via KCRW.com, and exploring through my iPod, that's worth a good listen. 

Hopefully, these songs not only will appeal to your inner ear and hungry mind. They'll make you smile, too. After all, these days everyone want something to smile about. 

Happy listening!

My Spring Multicultural Playlist

Laura Mvula - Can't Live With the World ~ England

British neo-soul singer/songwriter Laura Mvula's music has been labeled by The Guardian as "gospeldelia", calling it a new music genre. "Can't Live With the World" is from her just-released album Sing to the Moon. The song and the artist are garnering positive vibes here in the U.S. via KCRW.com's Morning Becomes Eclectic show. Hear here for yourself. 

Ivan & Alyosha - Running For Cover ~ U.S.

Formed in 2007, Ivan & Alyosha is a folk pop/indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, fronted by Tim Wilson and Ryan Carbary, who generated good buzz at this month's SXSW (South by Southwest) Festival in Austin, Texas. (For the record, none of the band members are named Ivan or Alyosha.) Their first full-length album is All the Times We Had.

Emma Louise - Boy ~ Australia

Emma Louise is an indie singer/songwriter from Brisbane, Australia, who was a featured artist on "The Austin 100: NPR Artists to Discover at SXSW 2013. Her lovely harmony is what will make you want to listen to "Boy" more than once.

Bibio - Á tout á l'heure ~ England

From the forthcoming album Silver Wilkinson, "Á tout á l'heure" (French for At the time) is by the Midlands, U.K. group Bibio, the moniker for Stephen Wilkinson, whose music is primarily electronic and experimental in nature. 

BOY - Little Numbers ~ Germany and Switzerland

Swiss singer Valeska Steiner and German bassist Sonja Glass are BOY and fans of Feist or Jenny Lewis will enjoy this Zurich-Hamburg indie-pop duo, whose album Mutual Friends, sung in English, was just released in North America after receiving good props in Europe. The song "Little Numbers" was featured in Lufthansa Airline's Business Class advertisement last summer.

Pope Francis I: He will not forget the poor

A simple wave and a smile / Pope Francis I 

Until now, there's never been a Francis.

There have been popes named Peter, Urban, Leo and Innocent. And, we've had John, Paul, and John Paul I and II.

Now, we have Francis I. With a little less silk, lace and gold than his predecessors, but no less humble.

Today, the world watched together as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, formally became Pope Francis I, the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, during a Holy Mass inaugurating the Petrine Ministry of the Bishop of Rome outside St. Peter's Basilica.

It was a remarkable morning celebrating a universal event.

A crowd estimated by the Vatican of 150,000 tourists, pilgrims and Roman Catholic faithful poured into St. Peter's Square for the two hour inauguration Mass, which was televised to a world-wide audience and, in this age of social media, was live blogged, too. In addition, there were delegations representing 132 countries in attendance, including six reigning sovereigns, 31 heads of state, three crown princes and 11 heads of government.

Before the start of the Holy Mass, the affable pope arrived at St. Peter's Square and greeted the crowd while riding in an open-top "popemobile". He appeared totally at ease and comfortable, beaming his photogenic smile for everyone, kissing babies, even giving a thumbs-up to well-wisher. He took the time to have the popemobile stop in the square so that he could get out and kiss and bless an infirmed man.

During the Holy Mass, the pope received his fisherman's ring, symbol of the pope as a "fisher of men" and a ring that only a pope can wear. In his 14-minute personal homily, reported The New York Times, the new pontiff "offered a passionate pledge ... to serve 'the poorest, the weakest, the least important,' striking the same times on humility as have marked the days since he was elected last week."

The London Guardian noted: "In his homily, the pope compared himself with Joseph, the husband of Mary who was given the mission by God of being her protector, that of Jesus, and that of the church. He said all people should take on this role of protecting those around them and the world itself, and said that goodness and tenderness were signs of strength, not weakness. Power is service, he said."

* A week of joyous excitement *

Less than a week ago, amid chilly rain, about 150,000 jubilant faithful jammed the piazza of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, joined by a world-wide TV audience, who watched in anticipation as a new pope was announced.

Joyous excitement, colorful pageantry and a sense of orderliness ~ giddiness, maybe? ~ rang through St. Peter's Square a few minutes past 7 o'clock last Wednesday, in the twilight, as the Basilica bells chimed, confirming what the white smoke billowing out of the the makeshift chimney on top of the Sistine Chapel signaled for everyone to see: a new pontiff had been elected.

Soon, it was announced to the world: Habemus papam.

"We have a pope." 

With those terse but expressive Latin words, there was much joy and celebration among the faithful, both in the Roman piazza, and throughout the world among 1.2 billion Catholics.

Although I am not Catholic (I am a confirmed Episcopalian), I have shared in the jubilation of the new pope. Soon after there was confirmation that a new pope had been chosen last week, I was online with a longtime friend of mine from Costa Rica, who is Catholic. She was thrilled by the news that the newly chosen pope hailed from South America and expressed her hope. Meanwhile, I tried to explain to a new friend of mine from Tunisia, a Muslim, the significance of the moment, which I had been describing in detail to her, as a result of my interest in papal history, pomp and ceremony.

In an institution that is based largely on tradition, the announcement of Jorge Mario Bergoglio's (pronounced Burr-GOAL-leo) as the "chosen one" to succeed Benedict XVI, who last month became the first pope in 598 years to retire, brought tremendous surprise. Amid the secrecy of the conclave of cardinals inside the Sistine Chapel, it took only 28 hours and five ballots to choose a new pontiff.

* A pope of firsts *

Indeed, Francis I has become a pope of firsts. He's the first pope born outside Europe since St. Gregory III 1,200 years ago and the first pope from the Americas. He's the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere and the first Jesuit pope. And, he's the first to adopt a new, unused and non-composed regnal name since Lando in 913-914.

In the spirit of St. Francis of Asisi, whom the new pope honored in taking the name Francis, we've witnessed a sense of poverty, humility and simplicity on display during the pope's first week. At least for now, it signifies a rekindling of energy in the Catholic Church, not to mention a fresh face for its spiritual leader.

Fratelli e sorelle, buonasera: "Brothers and sisters, good evening," said the bespectacled Francis, dressed in a plain white cassock and speaking in Italian, as he greeted the world and introduced himself for the first time from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica last Wednesday. "I would like to thank you for your embrace." He showed a sense of humility, too: "My fellow cardinals went and found one all the way at the end of the world, but here we are."

Among his first acts, the new pope asked the people of Rome (and, for that matter, the world) to ask for God's blessing for him before he blessed them. It was an act and gesture of simplicity, but it spoke volumes.

* A humble man, a man of the people *

The former Argentine cardinal, who was archbishop of Buenos Aires, is a humble man, a man of the people. An Argentine by birth, he has Italian roots thanks to his father being born in Italy. He is comfortable speaking in many languages, including Spanish, Latin and Italian. 

A conservative with a common touch, Francis has shown he wants to be close to the people. He's taken time to embrace everyday Catholics and shown the friendly demeanor of a parish priest. Back home in Argentina, he's a fan of "the Saints" of San Lorenzo de Almagro, a top-division Argentine football team in Buenos Aires. He's well known for his outreach to the Argentine poor and the disenfranchised, and for living modestly in a small apartment and cooking his own meals.

In Buenos Aires, Cardinal Bergoglio eschewed a chauffeur-driven car for public transportation, which endeared him to his faithful. According to legend, the best way to enjoy a personal audience with him was to hop aboard the bus that he regularly rode to and from his home and the church.

"He forsake many of the luxuries. This is a man of humility," said NPR Rome correspondent Sylvia Poggioli on All Things Considered, in describing the new pontiff in his first hours after being elected. "A pope from outside of the European world is going to be received very well."

Antonio Spadaro, editor of the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, in referring to the pope's position as the heir to St. Peter, told the Los Angeles Times: "He's trying to be himself, not to change himself. But at the same time he's completely aware of his role, of his Petrine ministry. He's trying to find a balance."

* Can Francis save and reform the Catholic Church? *

For the moment, hot-button issues facing the Catholic Church such as a shortage of priests, the ban on the ordination of women as priests, a sexual abuse crisis in the West, as well as its staunch opposition to abortion and gay marriage, have taken a back seat. Hopefully, these issues will not be lost on the new pontiff.

Just a few days into his papacy, one wonders if Francis can save and reform the Catholic Church? I don't know. But, I am hopeful that he can. At least, his outward appearance ~ his magnetic personality ~ suggests a sense of warmth and friendliness, and I think he is reaching out to show openness towards other faiths, too. Patriarchs from major religions were in attendance at the pope's inauguration Mass.

“Given that many of you do not belong to the Catholic Church, and others are not believers, I give this blessing from my heart, in silence, to each one of you, respecting the conscience of each one of you, but knowing that each one of you is a child of God,” the pope told a gathering of world media last Saturday at the Vatican. “May God bless you.” 

During his gathering with world media, the pope said he had chosen his name, Francis, in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, who worked for the poor and worked for peace. "Francis is the man of peace." He said the name "came into my heart: Francis of Assisi.” The  pope added: "Ah, how I would like a church that is poor and is for the poor." 

I think the new pope will be very invigorating for the Roman Catholic faithful, something that I sensed was sorely lacking in the papacy of his predecessor, Benedict XVI. So far, he's resisted giving up his simple black shoes for the stylish red shoes favored by Benedict, and he wears a plain crucifix instead of something much more bejeweled and ornate. Looking at photo galleries in recent days, the new pontiff has shown he isn't afraid to smile. 

According to many, the future of the Catholic Church lies in the developing worlds of Latin America, as well as in Africa and in Asia. Certainly, I think Francis is a representative of the developing world instead of just the developed First World. And, his choice signifies a shift of the centuries-old gravity of the Catholic Church away from Europe toward Latin America, where 40 percent of the world's Catholics now reside.

The bottom line is this: Can the new pope bring the Gospel message to the world? Let's hope so. Today's inaugural Mass was marked by its simplicity, and the new pope's homily set a good tone for his papacy.

One thing's certain: This pope will not forget the poor.

After all, there's no faking humility.

Photograph of Pope Francis I courtesy of the Associated Press.